Blog

Interview with the 2016 DEMA Agency of the Year – Domestic | Match

As a staffing agency, Domestic | Match assists families to find applicants for all household positions – particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, although they place management-level candidates to families throughout the United States. Founder and Director Daniel Wood’s experience extends to all sides of the hiring triangle as a candidate, a hiring manager, and a third-party recruiter. It is this unique understanding of all facets of the private service market that allows Daniel to make effective matches.

LATRICIA FRIEND: Congratulations. How does it feel to be selected as the 2016 DEMA Agency of the Year? What was the reaction of your family/friends/colleagues?
DANIEL WOOD: We are absolutely thrilled to have been chosen as the Agency of the Year by DEMA. We truly have a passion for helping others to succeed in their professional careers, and for bringing a degree of relief to our very busy clients. It is an honor to be acknowledged for what we love to do.

LF: You were missed at the convention and Chef Peter Downs accepted the award on your behalf. He mentioned his friendship and professional association with you. How would you recommend candidates to develop a relationship with a staffing agency?
DW: I am grateful to Peter for accepting the award on my behalf. I have known Peter for many years now and have a great respect for his dedication to his employers and the Private Service profession.

It is so important that candidates understand the importance of developing relationships with the agencies that they choose to have represent them. I believe that the foundation of a healthy agency/candidate relationship is based on honesty and clear communication. When we meet new candidates we really want to know what is important to them, and we need them to communicate with us professionally and quickly. The little things are important to us. Does someone take the time to address us by our names when they email us? Do they send a follow-up note after our initial meeting with them? The details matter. That being said, the responsibility of building a strong relationship should not fall solely on the shoulders of the candidate. We enjoy getting to know our candidates and strive to treat everyone with respect.

LF: When matching domestic staff candidates to client families, what are your keys to success?
DW: The keys to our success are simple really, honesty, excellent service, and paying attention to the small details. Honesty is so vital. We feel strongly that our candidates should have a very clear understanding of a potential new work environment before they make a life-changing commitment to our clients. There are challenges with every position; candidates should know about those challenges and decide for themselves if they wish to proceed with an opportunity. Our clients and candidates are busy. We strive to make the hiring process as seamless and simple as possible. Providing excellent service is a must.

Serving a family in a professional capacity is so vastly different than any other employee/employer relationship. Everyone on my team has worked for families in the past. Our clients and candidates seem to value that greatly. We have a deep understanding of the very intimate employment relationships that develop within a private residence.

LF: How will winning this award affect Domestic | Match?
DW: The most immediate affect has been on my team. We all feel so proud to have been selected to receive the award. In addition, I hope that the award will play a role in helping us to connect with even more amazing people from around the country who are in search of new private service opportunities.

________________________________________
Many thanks to Christofle for their on-going support of the Domestic Estate Management Association. Christofle is a platinum-level sponsor of the DEMA convention and provided the sterling silver awards given each year.